Chocolate

"I don't know how you can drink this stuff. Even the smell is awful."

Toph laughed softly as Sokka handed her a cupful of the bitter concoction. "I guess it's a good thing no one's asking you to drink it then." She held it to her nose and inhaled deeply before taking a long swallow. "Ah, good stuff."

Sokka shuddered. Of all the strange cravings she'd had over the past eight and a half months, this chocolate craving had to be the strangest. It didn't even taste good. It was thick and bitter, and it really didn't matter how much sugar was added – it was still terrible.

Toph couldn't get enough of it.

Sokka sat in the chair next to her and drank his own tea. He looked at his wife and simply stared at her. He'd often heard that women who are expecting glowed, but he never really saw it until now. Toph was positively radiant.

She finished her chocolate in one long swallow and slammed her cup on the table. "Well, we'd better get going," she announced, and began to stand up.

Sokka got up to help her. "Going to where, exactly?" he asked. "Neither of us has to do anything today." He put his arms around her shoulders and kissed her lightly. "Let's just stay here. I'm sure we could find something to do." He grinned at her. She may not have been able to see it, but he knew she could hear it somehow.

Toph smiled up at him and gently removed herself from his embrace. "Sorry, Snoozles. Katara wants to see me again today." She put one hand on her swollen belly. "She's says that it's getting close to time, and she wants to make sure everything's okay with him."

"Him?" He took her wrap from its hook near the door and placed it around her shoulders. "All last month, you were convinced it was a girl."

"Well, I've changed my mind. It's a boy."

He just looked at her for a minute. "Usual bet?"

She grinned. "You know it."

He took her hand and laced her fingers in his own. He went to open the door and felt her squeeze his hand unusually hard.

"Um, Snoozles," she said as he turned back to her. "Change in plans. I think you should bring Katara here." She winced and held both hands over her abdomen.

Sokka ran out the door without another thought.

*****

Sokka held both of Toph's hands in his, one arm wrapped around her back. He'd never felt so helpless in his life. She'd been in labour for fourteen hours and there was nothing he could do for her but hold her hands and whisper words of encouragement.

She was exhausted. Fourteen hours of contractions and pain and pushing seemed to be more than her small body could take. She just leaned back against the pillows, breathing hard and sweating.

"Okay, Toph," Katara said. "One more big push should do it."

Toph shook her head. "Can't. Too tired."

Sokka leaned down and kissed her temple. "Come on, Princess," he said. "You can do this. You want to meet our daughter, don't you?"

"Except this is a boy." She sat up again. "Okay, kid, let's do this."

Katara counted to three, and Toph pushed with everything she had left. She didn't scream or yell, preferring instead to squeeze Sokka's hands to the point of breaking them.

Somewhere between the pushing, the crushing hands, and Katara's steady stream of encouragement, a new sound broke through.

A baby's cry.

"Toph, Sokka." Katara held the baby so they could see. "It's a girl."

Toph collapsed back against the pillows, laughing and crying at the same time. Sokka kissed his wife and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "A girl," he said. "I guess you owe me then." Toph just laughed in answer.

Katara cleaned the baby, wrapped her in a blanket, and handed her to Toph. "I'll leave you three alone for a minute," she said, and left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Toph held her close with one arm. The other hand traced the features of her daughter's face, memorizing her features. Sokka looked in wonder at the tiny girl in her arms. He finally understood love at first sight.

"She's beautiful," she said.

Sokka nodded. "Just like her mom."

Toph turned her head to face him. He bent down and gave her a long, gentle kiss.

"Here," she said after they broke apart, and raised the baby up to him. "Your turn, dad."

He took the little girl in both arms and pressed her close to his chest. She opened her eyes briefly, then yawned and closed them again. He marvelled at the brilliant green of those eyes, so much like what he'd always imagined Toph's would look like if she weren't blind. She had his nose, and Toph's ears, but her hair...

A quiet knock at the door broke him out of his thoughts. Katara came back in, Aang close behind. The four of them hugged each other and exchanged congratulations. "So," Aang began. "What's her name?"

Toph faced the Avatar. "We decided that if it was a girl, her name would be-"

"Kah Li." Sokka finished.

Toph faced him. "What? That's not what we said."

He smiled. "I know, but trust me, Kah Li fits."

She folded her arms over her chest. "And why is that, oh naming genius?"

"Because of her hair." He looked down at his daughter. "You won't believe me, but her hair is exactly the same colour as that chocolate you've been drinking for the last nine months."

Toph's expression softened and she smiled up at him. "Kah Li," she said, trying out the name. Sokka handed their daughter back to her. Toph kissed her tiny nose."Welcome to the world, Kah Li," she said.


A/N: In Chinese, one way to pronounce chocolate is chiao-kuh-lee. Chop off the first syllable, and you have Kah Li's name.

And thus ends Tokka Week. It was great, wasn't it. However, I do have a few more ideas, so I may just have some more to add later on!

Thanks to all my reviewers, and thanks to everyone that read these. I really appreciate each and every one of you!